Burroughs hosts band extravaganza

Music filled the air at the Burroughs High School gym Wednesday when the Sierra Sands Unified School District held its fourth annual band extravaganza.

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By John V. Cianijciani@ridgecrestca.com

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By John V. Cianijciani@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Apr. 12, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Updated Apr 12, 2013 at 12:41 PM

By John V. Cianijciani@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Apr 12, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Updated Apr 12, 2013 at 12:41 PM

Music filled the air at the Burroughs High School gym Wednesday when the Sierra Sands Unified School District held its fourth annual band extravaganza.

The Burroughs High School Band, James Monroe Middle School Concert Band and the Murray Middle School Concert Band combined to showcase their individual and collective talents.

Each band performed two selections.

The Murray band, under the direction of Dan Peterson, started things off by performing “Excellentia” by David Shaffer and “Sleeping Place of the Stars” by Ralph Ford.

The Monroe band, under the direction of Lisa Austin, followed with “As the Winds Dance” by Samuel Hazo and “Korean Festival” by Quincy Hilliard.

The Burroughs band, under the direction of Simon Austin, performed “Aventura” by James Swearingen. The band, under the direction of Drum Major Noah Scanlan, performed “King Across the Water” by Bruce Fraser.

All three bands, under the direction of Simon Austin, performed “Kronos” by Robert W. Smith and “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd.

“You’re looking at the best of the best,” Peterson said.

He said the vast majority of chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies were involved in music programs.

“We solve problems. We work together. We work as a team,” said Peterson. “There is no substitute for a solid music education.”

Citing a Stanford University study, Simon Austin said children between the ages of 7 and 12 with music training made faster gains in reading fluency than students with no musical backgrounds.

“The researchers also used brain scans and newly developed software technology to study the corpus collosum, the part of the brain linking the right and left hemispheres and found that the white matter pathway responsible for phonological awareness had the ability to pull apart and manipulate the sounds and speech, proved to be more highly developed in the children who were stronger readers than those with weaker reading skills.”